Of Monsters and Men (REWRITE)
by LightningReformed
Summary: Drayce Ackerman, forcefully recruited to receive the ninth titan, has only one goal. To finish what his teacher couldn't, to bring the fall of Marley and the rise of Eldia. But as he strives for the objective, he begins to lose that which is most important to him and only with the help of a certain girl he meets along the way does he manage to save what little of himself remains.
1. Prologue: Where We Begin

**A/N: Hello hello hello! As you can tell by the title, this is a rewrite for Of Monsters and Men! Like I wrote before, the point where the old version is at right now is too complicated. I added too many elements to the story that made it too confusing for even me to write, let alone trying to plug all the plot holes in it. Each chapter will be rewritten, some with major changes to plot or some minuscule ones. These changes will be discussed by your's truly at the bottom to explain my thought process (that is if anyone actually cares to read it). But anyways, I will leave the old one up just so you can see how complicated it gets and how badly old me wrote it but yeah. Here is the new version of Prologue. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Please, please, please," muttered a man as he paced in the living room of his house.

In the next room over was his wife, moaning in pain from going into labour. He picks up the cup of tea on the table besides him and takes a drink, hoping it would settle his nerves. At the sound of urgent knocking from the door, the man sets his cup back onto the table but in his anxiousness, knocks over the cup. For a split moment, he fumbles with the wet table before rushing to open the door to reveal two men and a woman at his door.

"Doctor Yeager, Mrs. Yeager, thank god you're here. My wife, she's in the next room," the man cried.

"Relax Mr. Ackerman. Your wife is in good hands. By the way, this is Mr. Chaplan. He is here to document the birth of your child afterwards," Doctor Yeager smiled warmly. "Carla, come now. We have a baby to help deliver. "

With that, the Yeagers swept into the next room to help conceive Mr. Ackerman's child. Mr. Chaplan sighs and takes at the wet table. "Exciting day isn't it?" the man spoke quietly and slowly. "The welcoming of new life into this beautiful world."

"I suppose one could see it that way," Mr. Ackerman replied as he wiped the table down. "Tea?"

Mr. Chaplan brushed his neck length, light hair away from his gray weary eyes. "I would appreciate as much, if you don't mind."

Taking a clean cup from the cabinet, Mr. Ackerman pours a new cup of tea for the elderly man. Upon taking the cup of steaming tea, Mr. Chaplan frowned as he watched the shaking hands of his host.

"Why so nervous? You should be rejoicing on this day," he asked after taking a sip of tea.

"As far as birth rates have been, I'm still concerned for my wife. I fear she might not survive the ordeal. Her condition has been weak," Mr. Ackerman explained worriedly.

Mr. Chaplan smiled, setting his cup onto the table. "Ah yes, but you need not worry. Doctor Yeager is one of the finest doctors I've seen in years. Him and his wife will certainly be able to ensure your wife's safety. But for now, all we can do is pray."

The hours to come slowly began to tick by, as day fell to night. The agonizing cries of his wife and the encouraging words of the couple in the next room was all that filled the silence. Despite Mr. Chaplan's words, Mr. Ackerman's uneasiness still would not disappear.

After what seemed like an eternity, a fresh, new wailing sounded from the bedroom. At this new sound, Mr. Ackerman leapt from his chair and began banging on the wooden door. "Let me in!" he demanded.

"Just you wait! Then you can see your son!" Ms. Yeager shouted back over the wailing.

"A baby boy! I have a boy," Mr. Ackerman cried out happily before his face paled once again. "My wife!"

"Your wife and child are healthy and fine. She stayed strong the entire time," Doctor Yeager replied from behind the door.

"My wife and my child are safe!" Mr. Ackerman groaned as he sank back into his chair, Mr. Chaplan absolutely beaming at the news.

"Congratulations, my friend! May we give thanks to the goddesses for a new healthy family!" Mr. Chaplan announced.

The door to the bedroom finally opened and Ms. Yeager held out the infant, who was swaddled in cloth, out to his proud father. The baby's bright black eyes were already wandering around the house before finally locking onto his father's face.

"Mr. Ackerman, with your permission, may I?" Mr. Chaplan asked.

"Of course," Mr. Ackerman replied, handing his son over to the old man, careful to support the head.

"What shall you name him?" Mr. Chaplan asked as he stared at the baby.

"A name," Mr. Ackerman repeated, unsure how to answer. "Um, Drayce."

"Drayce, are you sure?" Mr. Chaplan asked as he hands the baby back to Mr. Ackerman in exchange for a clipboard and writing utensil. "In an ancient land called England, it means dragon, a great beast respected for its strength, wisdom, and loyalty."

"Wow, that's truly interesting," Mr. Ackerman mused, trying to imagining such a creature. "Yes, I am certain."

"Very well. Congratulations, Drayce Ackerman. Hmm, what's this?" Mr. Chaplan asked as he inspects the blanket.

The sides of the bundle were stained red, albeit the cause unknown. Mr. Ackerman also frowned and began to unwrap the cloth and the sight that greeted him shocked him to no end. It was impossible but it was looking at him right in the face. His newborn son had claws. The three bone protrusions on each hand appeared to have extended from the area between his knuckles, piercing Drayce's flesh and hence the blood.

"Dr. Yeager, my son," Mr. Ackerman croaked. "What's happening?"

The doctor frowned as he inspected the bone protrusions. "It appears as this isn't just an accident. The muscles contract when I push on them, suggesting that this was supposed to be here," Dr. Yeager analyzed.

"Is there anything we can do about it?" Mr. Ackerman asked, wringing his hands.

"You need not worry Mr. Ackerman," Mr. Chaplan said. "Kenny!"

The door to the house slams open as another man waltzed in. "Ya called, old man? Oh my lord, what is that? Uri, you've got some explaining to do."

"It's called an infant Kenny. To be precise, and it appears to be one of James Logan's descendants," Mr. Chaplan, now revealed to be Uri, replied.

"W-what's going on here?" Mr. Ackerman yells.

"Now now, don't go on a yellin'. We're in some important business right now," Kenny sneered as he pulled out his gun, pointing it at the two men. "Into the room, now."

As the two shuffled into the bedroom with their hands up, Uri wrapped Drayce back up, careful of his claws.

"Whatcha gonna do with him Uri?" Kenny asks as he adjusts his hat.

"Landon has been looking for mutants and as per our agreement, I hand over any that I find," Uri replied.

"Back up to the bed, all of you," Kenny orders, flicking his gun towards the bed. The doctor, his wife, and Mr. Ackerman all did as they were told.

"Now, I'm awfully sorry for doing this to you all. You won't remember a thing. If you did, we would have to kill you," Uri replied as his eyes began to glow purple. A wave of fuzziness and warmth washed over the the doctor and his wife but Mr. Ackerman remained unfazed. "Kenny, we're done here."

With that, the two men swept out of the house, leaving the bewildered and frightened occupants behind. "Hey Uri, I still don't understand. You know that the memory wipe doesn't affect Ackermans like me or people from the Azumabito clan. Why bother? You shoulda just let me kill them," Kenny remarked as they wandered down the road.

"We do not kill innocents Kenny. The Ackerman and Azumabitos have been prosecuted enough. There is no need for bloodshed anymore," Uri replied calmly as he observed the baby in his arms. "We can only hope that Landon and the rest of the Restorationist can manage to bring down Marley."

"Bringing down a country eh? That man's crazy if he thinks he can do that with several babies," Kenny barked.

"If this child truly is a descendant of James Logan, then his inherited power will grant him the ability to bring down the country," Uri answers.

"Oi oi, you don't mean-"

"No, Kenny. Freida will have the Holy Inheritance. One of the other mutants will gain the Victory Titan, though how Landon intends for this to happen, I do not know. Together, I hope for them to someday set the Eldians free," Uri finishes. "Kenny, drive the carriage if you please. We are off to Mitras."

* * *

"Uri should be here by now," grumbled a man as he paces back and forth in his office.

"I'm sure he'll arrive soon. Ah, as expected. The carriage is here. Kenny's driving. I hope you have the whisky that he likes. That man can drink," a young woman remarks.

"It doesn't matter how much that man can drink. He requested a crate, he'll get a damn crate," the man growled. "Cost me a fortune, Thatch's brewery is no joke."

A soft knocking emanates from outside his office door before it was thrust open with great force. "Kenny, that was absolutely unnecessary," Uri chidded.

"Eh. Landon Price ya old dog, how's it going?" Kenny asked as tosses his hat carelessly onto the hat stand near the doors.

"I could do with less of your visits Kenny," Landon grumbled. "You're whisky demands are running quite high."

"It's Thatch's Brewery, what do you expect? Like I would go and get the cheap watered down piss from the so called bar," Kenny laughed as he pulls a bottle from the crate. "Uri has your delivery."

"Is that so? Do we know the mutation Lord Reiss?" Landon muses as he observes the squirming baby in his assistant's arms.

"We do Commander Price. Drayce appears to be a descendant of James Logan himself. If I am not mistaken, then he will be a great asset to the overall team," Uri responded.

"I give you my thanks for this delivery. Kenny, take your damn whisky already," Landon growled. "If you have no further business, then I suggest you take your leave, Lord Reiss."

"Keeping things short as usual, Landon. I'll leave the rest to you," Uri replied. "Come now Kenny. You can put the whiskey in the carriage with me."

The door shuts behind the two men, leaving Landon and his assistant in the office with Drayce. "Amanda, put the baby with the others," Landon orders. "Let them get to know each other. And put them to sleep soon. I don't know how much longer I can work while listening to them cry all the time."

"Right away sir. I'll assign someone for child care duty soon."

With that, Amanda carries Drayce out the room and closes the door with a click. She walks down the hall and makes a right. Pushing open the door, she enters a room with baby cribs. Place Drayce in an empty crib, she sighs with relief.

"Seriously, out of the other two, you've been the most behaved you know," Amanda whispers, careful not to wake the other two sleeping infants, while Drayce gazed at her. "And for all of your sakes, I hope Landon knows what he's doing."

* * *

**A/N: So some major changes about Drayce. In the old version, I had Landon try to replicate the experiment but since tech hadn't advanced that far, I figured it was _safer_ to make Drayce a descendant of Logan. Another big change is the memory serum I came up with. I also figured they didn't have chemistry advance enough to create something that interfere with the neural networks of the human brain so I conveniently used Uri Reiss's Founding Titan ability to do that for me instead. Although it won't be an extremely prevalent thing in this rewrite, Uri is working with Landon and both of them are aware of Marley and the outside world. Hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter, I will meet back with you all in the next one. **


	2. 1 Marley Days: Bootcamp

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry that this update was delayed by more than a month. Must've been a long wait. I do apologize for the wait but I wanted to prepare for the upcoming SAT and ended up doing way more practice than needed and didn't put as much thought, or time for that matter, to my stories. Fucking CALCULUS is fucking clapping me and I opted to upload this instead of doing my homework. Go figure. :P**

KANG

KANG

KANG

KANG

Heavy breathing resounded throughout the entire stone room. There was a single boy in the room repeatedly striking at an oil drum in the centre of the room. With a grunt, the boy gave a final punch to the drum before the metal burst open, letting a torrent of sand flow out to the floor.

He raised his bloody hands up and looked at the damage. The skin on his knuckles was torn, letting his bones below peek out. He struggled to control the shaking in his hands, clenching and unclenching them.

"You always insist on pushing yourself to your limit. Do you truly have no regard for your own well-being?"

The boy turned around to see his mentor at the cell doors. The entire facility was an underground dungeon that had been repurposed for training and for living, which made it slightly more comfortable but there was only so much you could do to remodel a dungeon.

"Landon, sir," the boy greeted stiffly. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"So it is a surprise for the teacher to observe the student?" Landon asked with a tired smile.

"I suppose when you put it that way," the boy replies. "Though I have a feeling you're here for something else."

Landon sighs, running his hand through his greying hair. "The custom iron you requested has arrived. If you would like to begin, then we should go."

"Good." The boy moves to get out of the room but is stopped by the older man.

"You honestly think I would forget about your hands? Show them," the man ordered.

Groaning, the boy sticks out his ruined hands and the man beckons someone forth.

"Drayce, what did I tell you?" a little girl asked as she ran up to him.

"That I wouldn't train so hard," Drayce responded. "But I know you. You're looking for an excuse to help, aren't you Kristie?"

Kristie pouted before putting her hands over Drayce's. A green glow began to emit from her palms as she healed the broken skin on his hands.

"You've improved," Drayce compliments, inspecting his hands as Kristie giggled. "For a little girl that is."

"Little?! I'm four!" Kristie exclaims, hopping madly.

"Yes, and I'm twice as old as you are so that makes you little to me now doesn't it?" Drayce comments. "I suggest you get back to your studies. After all, the human anatomy is quite a lot to take in if you want to be a fully fledged healer."

Kristie giggles and runs back down the long hall and out of sight. Drayce leans over to make sure the girl was out of sight. "Good because things are about to get ugly. She doesn't need to see it."

The pair strode down the hall in silence until Landon broke the silence. "How's the progress of...well, you know."

Drayce sighs and his claws shoot out of his hands, the bone a greyish metallic color. "Well, I know it's spreading. I'm lucky that only my bones have been affected."

"Are you absolutely sure that it has only spread to your bones?" Landon asked, his voice grim and hard. "Anything else and you would be rendered useless."

"I am quite certain that it is just my bones. It's been eight years. Something should have happened by now but it hasn't so the so-called inconvenience is currently my greatest utility," Drayce replies coldly.

The two enter another room where a blazing fire maintained by another boy. "William, how's the progress?" Drayce asks as he begins to shed his shirt.

"It's ready whenever you are," the brown haired boy shrugged. "Do you want me to do it?"

"If you don't mind," Drayce responds as he lies down on the wooden bench, his back facing the air. A strong pair of hands presses down on his shoulders, preventing him from unnecessary movement.

William pulls the iron out of the flames, the glowing metal hissing through the air. He positions the symbol above his friend's back before counting down. "Three. Two. One!"

He plunges the branding iron downwards, the metal hissing and the boy below it groaning and struggling to keep his shouts of pain from bursting forth. Tears ran down the side of his face as the metal seared the mark onto his skin forever. William removes the iron from his friends back and gazed at the brand, a circle with three katanas in the middle forming a triangle.

"I will no longer bear my father's name," Drayce grits. "The curse that turns my proud name into that of a slave. I will have it no more."

Landon gazed at Drayce as he stood back up. "Then I welcome you to our ranks, Drayce Azumabito. Now if you're feeling up to it, please join us in our briefing."

Drayce watches as his mentor walks out of the room, leaving him and William in the room. A silence pans out as William extinguishes the fire used to heat the branding iron. William begins to say something but Drayce cuts him off sharply.

"Don't. You know I hate it," Drayce growls as he snaps the branding iron in half.

"Dude!" William exclaims exasperated, gesturing at the broken iron. "Do you know how much money it cost?"

"Who cares, no one's going to use it again anyways," Drayce mutters, letting the pieces he's broken further clatter to the ground.

"Ok, come on. What with the prissy attitude? You're not normally like this," William asks, folding his arms.

"I'm not prissy for your information," Drayce growls before reigning in his emotions. "Just the thought of spending three years in boot camp with the human scum in Marley."

"Why do you distrust humans so much anyways?" William asks.

"I don't just distrust them William, I hate them. Tearing the world apart centuries ago, committing mass crimes and murder for their own selfish gain," Drayce spat. "What's to trust or like?"

"They're not all like that," William persists.

"THEY HUNTED DOWN OUR KIND FOR SPORT AND SHOWED IT OFF LIKE SOME SICK SPORT," Drayce bellowed. "DOES THAT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?"

Drayce turns away before speaking in a softer tone. "I thought you would understand," he whispered.

Drayce watches as William clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, and unfurled his hands. "Yeah, you're right. I do but I don't let a few people speak for the entire human race," William says in a low voice letting a ball of fire ignite in his hands.

"You upset me, my friend. I wash my hands of this matter. We have a meeting to attend to and I suggest we get a move on lest we arrive late," Drayce says.

The two boys jog out of the room, William closing the cell door behind them, and down the hall into the war room. Well, it wasn't so much a war room as it was their reck area. Before that, the room had belonged to the commissioned officers' but they had long cleared out the building on Landon's command.

Drayce pushes open the door to find the rest of his friends in various positions throughout the room, though most of them were simply sprawled across the couches. "You all never cease to amaze me at how lazy you all can be," Drayce comments before sitting down in an antique wooden chair.

"Not everyone is as dedicated to the mission as you are man," George comments from his spot at the table, looking up from his hand of cards.

"But you should be," Drayce reprimands sharply. "We are training to infiltrate a highly secure military base so that one of us can inherit one of the nine titans. If anyone of us slips up during the upcoming years, well, I suppose we'd have to bid everything we care about farewell, now won't we?"

"You really need to lighten up Drayce. Being so grumpy all the time isn't going to be good for you either," Rachel pips up from her spot next to George. "I mean, we got this in the bag!"

"Have to agree with Rachel on this one," Mabel simply says. "With our team, I find it hard to screw up."

"It's not impossible. But if we do, you know what happens," Drayce says pointedly, getting out of his chair.

"You're such a drag and a downer, you know that?" Rachel asks, pouting.

"Not so much as he's being one of the only realists here," William counters. "What he means to say is that while your ability to complete the mission is good enough, he still wants us to be careful because he doesn't want to lose any of us. Think about Kristie for example."

Drayce gives William a nod before something small plows into his back. "Ow," Kristie moans as she rubs her nose. "Oh! Sorry Drayce! I wasn't watching where I was going. Too much stuff in my head."

"Evidently enough. Come on and take a seat. The meeting is about to start," Drayce says lightly, pushing Kristie towards the chair he was just in.

"Why am I not surprised?" Landon asked as he walks through the door, scanning at the squad's various positions throughout the room. He sets down the stack of papers he'd been carrying for their mission briefing. "Come and get them."

The mutants around the room scramble out of their seats and each grabs a copy of the file before scanning over the details.

"As I'm sure all of you know, our current mission is to take one of the nine titans, the Victory Titan to be exact. To do this, you all will pose as cadets for the warrior program," Landon reads. "At the end of your three year training, they'll select the most capable of you to take on the titan's power. We have an envoy to meet at sundown. Get your horse ready, we leave in 10."

* * *

The sounds of horses whinnying filled the darkening sky as the group of seven gather in the stables, getting ready to mount their horses. Drayce feeds that last piece of apple in his hands to his horse before climbing onto his pure black steed. He rubs the horse's neck before grabbing the reins.

"Everyone ready?" Landon yells from atop his horse. "George, open the portal."

The boy's eyes began to glow green before a swirling light began to manifest in front of the group. The light began to expand, tearing into the fabric of reality in front of them. The scene just beyond the portal was an expanse of rolling hills covered with green grass, the rays of sunset just peaking through the dimensional doorway, giving Landon's face an orangish tint.

"Hiyah!" He snaps the reins and rides through the portal to the other side, the rest of the team following in suit. When the last member passed through, the breached sealed back up, leaving the stables empty, with no sign that anyone had been there.

The ragtag group rides away towards the edge of the island known as Paradis, quite ironic as it was essentially a living hell with creatures known as titans roaming the land. The titans, hellish humanoid creatures that _ate humans, _had forced the denizens of Paradis to cower in fear behind three giant walls that they had erected in order to protect themselves from the beasts. Though voracious in daylight, they now laid dormant at night, just like this night.

They passed countless numbers of these beasts, all of them curled up in various fetal positions to wait out the night, all eager for day to come to allow them to wander once again. Slowly but surely, the horizon illuminated by the countless stars and the moon gave way to the glittering mass of water known as the ocean, a body of water so wide that no eye can see the end of it. When the first light rays of dawn began to break out, a small dot in the sky began to grow clearer and clearer. The massive blimp eventually touched down on the water's edge, the propellers spraying sand and seawater everywhere. The cargo door opened, revealing a uniformed man. Landon dismounted from his horse and marched forward, saluting to the officer.

"Commander Magath!" Landon greeted, popping into a crisp salute.

"At ease soldier," Magath replied. "Good to see you again, Price. How have you been holding up?"

"Doing as well as I can sir. I have managed to select viable candidates to join the Warrior Program," Landon replied, releasing his salute. "I expect that they will be able to meet and even surpass your requirements."

"Your excellent work is most certainly deserving of an award," Magath praised. "Load up recruits! Your horses go in the cargo bay! Let's move!"

The kids began to scramble, urging the horses onto the blimp before hastily entering the flying machine themselves, shortly followed by Landon and Commander Magath. As soon as the door slammed shut, the propeller revved back up, lifting its crew and new passengers into the sky.

"All right, listen up recruits! My name is Commander Magath, one of the few overseeing the Warrior Program! From this point on you will not be coddled, your hand will not be held. You are training to be a warrior for the great nation of Marley! Is that understood?"

"Yes Sir!"

"I can't hear you! Sound off!"

"YES SIR!"

"Very good! Your training will last 3 hard and grueling years. You will train beside your fellow soldiers. You will eat with them and you will sleep next to them so be prepared to get real comfy with the people around you, whether you like it or not!" Magath declared. "We will arrive in approximately 5 hours. During this time, you will refresh yourselves, eat chow, and await further instructions! Dismissed!"

The kids broke formation and began to explore the space. It wasn't very big. With the cargo area currently occupied by the horses, it left them with the upper level. The space had a table near the side with a single cardboard box on it. The contents, breakfast. They each grabbed a ration from the box, tearing into the package and eating the biscuit inside.

"I'm still hungry," Kristie said, staring glumly at her crumpled plastic wrapper.

The older kids moves to break a section of their meal off but Drayce stops them. Instead, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his share of the ration and hands it to Kristie.

"But aren't you hungry?" Kristie asks, her bottom lip quivering.

"You know I don't need to eat," Drayce replies as he watches the girl tentatively open the packet.

It was technically true. As a mutant with incredible healing factor, it removed the need for him to eat or drink as his body would simply heal itself from anything caused by hunger or thirst. Because of this, Drayce always gave away his share of food if they didn't have enough to eat.

"Then why do you even eat or drink anything at all?" Rachel asked, frowning.

"Because I want to. No one in their right mind would pass up meat," Drayce replies. "Or any other good foods for that matter."

As the day approaches mid morning, the airship begins to descend, revealing a vast land over the ocean. "Take a good look, recruits. The great nation of Marley in all its glory," Magath declares proudly. "This will be your home for the next three years."

The airship eventually touches down in what they assume to be the military base that they were to be stationed in for the duration of their training. "Walk with me. I'll take you guys to the barracks to let you all get accustomed to this place before the announcements. You all already missed the orientation but Commander Magath already gave you all a short run down of it," Landon spoke as he strode off the vehicle.

The barracks, as it turned out was divided by the companies. Being girls, they were naturally placed in Echo company while the boys were assigned to Bravo company. The barracks were neat and tidy, the beds stacking 3 high in conjunction with the three large metal boxes that were stacked in front of it.

"I claim top," Drayce says as he vaults onto the top bunk.

"Middle," William says immediately after.

"Aww come on!" George groans, as he slides into the bottom bunk.

"Too slow man," William smirks.

A loud clattering comes from the door and a mass of kids rush inside the barracks. Drayce, William, and George immediately gets up and snaps to attention.

"Get in front of your bunks, all of you!"

Who they can only presume to be the sergeant steps into the barracks, watching the boys scramble to get into position.

"My grandmother's faster than you all, and she's six feet under!" the sergeant barked. "You! What's your name?!"

A boy with a thin build and messy brown hair across from them was the first victim.

"C-carl Riechert, sir!" the boy stammered.

"I AM NOT SIR! SIR IS WHAT YOU CALL USELESS PEOPLE! I AM SARGE OR SERGEANT HOWER! GOT THAT RECRUIT?" Sergeant Hower screamed.

"Y-yes Sarge!"

"And work on your composition. It disgusts me," the sarge growled as he stalks away. "You're next half-pint!"

The small blond who had been smirking at Riechert suddenly froze as he realized who the sergeant was talking to.

"You think this is funny don't you? It was a joke to you, huh?"

"No sarge!"

"Well would you like to hear my own joke?" the sarge asked in a dangerous tone. "10 LAP AROUND THE FIELD, NOW!"

The kid scrambles out of the barracks and out into the field. "I don't have time to waste on you shitlings! Everyone outside now! Move it!" Sergeant Hower screams.

"I hate him already," George mutters under his breath.

"Better put up with it for the next 3 years then," William replies.

"Scratch that. He's not even going to last a single year if he thinks this is bad," Drayce retorts before running outside with William, leaving George alone.

"Well shit."

**A/N: So for any veteran reader who knew Drayce from my first version of this story, he was a more relaxed boy but serious when he needed to be. But for this story, I changed it. He has a more, noble I want to say, aspect of him. He's prideful of his race and his hatred, in my opinion at least, is well justified. The second change you guys might notice is that I removed the other mutants altogether. It was counterproductive for me to have them in there only to kill them off later and up to the point in where I stopped the previous version, they had active roles BUT there became a problem where I had more characters than lines that I could assign which would create an imbalance of who got to speak and who didn't. Another thing I did was that decided to also concentrate more about his time in Marley's warrior program because it helps shape who he becomes later on in the story. Won't say too much about it because it'll ruin the surprise, no duh. Most of the training scenes will be inspired from my own memories when I went through my boot camp for the USNSCC. Good times but rough times. Anyways, hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter and if you follow along with my other stories, I'll see you guys at the Rosario + Vampire update!**


	3. 2 Marley Days: Soldier or Warrior?

**A/N: Hello! Let me be honest real quick. This story has not been updated in roughly HALF A YEAR. For those who were waiting, your patience has paid off! Now with the entire world getting screwed sideways with COVID-19, I've had a lot more time on my hands lately. I also was working on one of my other story, now that I have a co-author for it. Somewhere in my mind, I always knew that I had this chapter almost completed but for whatever reason didn't. But at least I did finish it, right?**

"Recruits, attention!"

The blockade of kids snapped to attention, staring at nothing but what was in front of them, not moving a single muscle.

"Good morning!" the commanding officer shouted.

"Good morning sir!" they all chorused back.

"Today is an exciting day," the commanding officer began. "Today you will join one of several branches in the Marlean army! I will get straight to the point! Your performance during basic training has determined your position in one of these branches!"

The Infantry Division, the most common of the five! You will train for battle in the front lines! The Engineer Corp will work with repairs and technological advances, specifically with aviation! The Medical team trains for surgical operations and procures combat medics during wartime! The Marksman Brigade where you will be trained as snipers for support during battle or operating the cannons."

Last but not least, the Advanced Combat Unit! Only a handful has been selected based on hand to hand combat abilities. When you receive your assignments, take a good look at those in this division! They, above all, are most qualified to receive a titan! Now it's not to say that just because you aren't in that division, you won't earn a titan! Learn from them, prove your worth, and you will be viable as any candidate!" the commanding officer shouted, ending his speech.

"All right pipsqueaks! When your division is called, come up and get your service files!" another officer shouted. "Alpha, you're up first!"

About thirty or so recruits stepped forward, forming a line to receive their service files. Drayce and William stood side by side watching as the recruits came and went.

"Bravo, you're up!"

The two boys moved forward with the rest of their company. They had gotten relatively close to the table with a box of files on it so the wait wasn't too bad. The line slowly inched forward as each recruit received their yellow file.

"Name, kid?"

"Azumabito, Drayce."

The man in charge of handing out the files flipped through the labeled envelope, searching for his file.

"Good news kid, you aren't infantry," the man grunts to which Drayce snorts.

"_As if,"_ he thought.

"Here you are. Advanced combat. First one outta all these suckers," the man said, handing Drayce his file. "Congratulations kid."

Drayce took his file and returned to his previous spot in formation. William shortly joined him. "What did you get," he breathed softly.

"Advanced combat. Not surprised that I did," Drayce replied. "What about you?"

"I got Engineer. Guess I didn't do as bad on the practical as I thought," William shrugged. "I expected to be part of Infantry."

"You're one of the best. If you got Infantry, I would need to stop associating with you," Drayce smirked. "George."

The sandy haired teen lined up on the other side of Drayce, his pasty yellow envelope in hand. "Got Engineer like I wanted," he said breathlessly.

"Oh, that's good. You can work with William," Drayce replied.

"Ayy, Willy! You're with me now," George exclaimed with a fat smile on his face.

William's face paled considerably at the thought, his expression morphing into one of terror. "I made a mistake," he said hoarsely. "And please don't call me Willy."

Drayce snickered before returning his attention to the front. After the Charlie division got their profiles, it was the girls' turn. The three boys watched with anticipation as the rest of their group ripped open their files.

Even from a far distance, they could see the red colored crosses on their papers. "Medical. Not bad," William nodded.

"So none of us made Marksmanship huh?" George wondered. "I was sure Mable would have got it."

"It doesn't matter. As long as one of us gets the titan we need, we book it," Drayce reminded.

"I know but come on! Two years stuck with the same people? It's gonna get boring if we don't have friends in the same group," George exclaims.

"You all have received your respective companies! Now form up in your divisions!"

The kids scrambled to find fellow recruits in the same group as themselves. After five minutes or so, each division had found each other. Out of the five, Infantry was the biggest, with Engineer and Medical close behind. Marksmanship was slightly smaller but Advanced Combat was the smallest of the five, totaling only eleven recruits.

"Officers! Take control of your respected divisions!" Drayce looked for his new officer and spotted Landon with a man and woman following close behind him.

"Congratulations, all of you, on making the Advanced Combat Unit!" Landon announced, his hands behind his back. "You will address me as Sergeant Price. The two behind me are Corporal Wrendeicht and Corporal Episisky. They will assist you during your training."

"Now I understand that not everyone may be on the same level. Do not worry. We are here to make sure that you learn a style of fighting that fits you. Martial Arts is a language. You must be in tune with it at all times," Corporal Wrendeicht spoke as he stepped forward. "Anything else you want to add, Corporal Episisky?"

"Not at the moment but Sergeant, if I may, I believe it's time we began their training," the woman spoke cheerfully.

"Right! Let's show you to your training places!" Landon declared. "They gave us a new building this year, so we're a bit more fortunate than the other groups. Must've spent quite a bit making it."

"Seems that's all Marley can do. Spend money," Corporal Wrendeicht snorted.

Landon's lips pressed together in a wane smile. "Yes, it would appear so," he said.

"Yeah no shit."

Drayce turned around and found the source of the voice. It was a girl and well...she was short. Despite her petite build, her piercing blue eyes had enough frost to stare down a full grown man and those eyes were glaring at Drayce.

"What?" she hissed silently.

He regarded her with his own golden eyes before turning his attention back to the front. "Best keep your mouth shut if you want to avoid punishment," he muttered in warning.

"Well, mind your own damn business," the girl whispers back.

"Here we are! This is the place you'll be spending most of your time at."

The building in front of them was a dome, the metal frame wrapping around the entire building. The group entered the building and fanned out. The lights were suspended from the top of the dome, shining down on the group. The ground was completely padded, made to ensure that no serious harm would come to any trainee should they fall or be slammed.

Landon clapped his hands and the trainees lined up along the edge of the dome. "Based on your profiles, we have predetermined your sparring partners. There will be no complaining, no whining. You are warriors! Do you understand?!"

"YES SERGEANT!"

Corporal Wrendeicht takes a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and smooths it out. "When I call out the pairs, both of you will find an unused part of the room and begin sparring. Get comfortable with your technique," he instructs.

Drayce watches as trainees are called forward, some smiling at being partnered with a friend while some scowling as they were paired with a less than desirable trainee. He watched the trainees begin to spar and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. Almost every single one of them had a sloppy stance. Their punches and kicks were lacking. How any of them got into this division, he would never understand. Inwardly, he began to hope that Landon had assigned him someone halfway decent or else it would be a very long two years.

In fact, he had been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed when his name was called. It was only when another trainee nudged him did he jolt back to reality and step forward, just narrowly avoiding getting yelled at by one of the corporals. He gave a half hearted pleading look to Landon to which his mentor gave a small smile as Corporal Wrendeicht called out his partner's name.

"Leonhart, Annie."

Drayce turned his head slightly to see the same cynical girl he spoke to step forward. The anger in her eyes said enough. Drayce turned back to Landon, this time with a look of exasperation. As Annie took her place next to him, Landon waved them both away. The pair walk to an empty part of the room, further away from the rest of the group. Though it wasn't formally agreed on, it seemed that Annie had no objections either. Maybe because she didn't like large crowds of people but regardless, That wasn't the reason Drayce had in mind.

He stops and Annie takes a position a few paces in front of him. Coincidentally, both of them raise their hands and shift into their respective combat stances. For a split second, Annie's eyes widen in surprise before narrowing them again. Both of them were simply standing there, sizing the other up.

Annie's stance was a unique one, with her left foot forward, slightly bent. Her hands were just barely higher up than normal, guarding her face. The stance was solid, and if Drayce had to guess, aimed at maximizing the potential of kicks and rapid strikes. It was somewhat familiar to the styles of hand to hand combat he had read about back when he was still living in Shiganshina. His own stance was similar to one of a wrestling stance, his back and knees were slightly bent, giving him solid balance but his arms were what seemed to confuse Annie the most. While his left hand was close to his chest in a fist, his right hand was extended forwards with the thumb, middle, and index finger sticking out, forming a claw shape.

He could see it in her eyes, the uncertainty of something she had never seen before. Despite the new challenge, she narrowed her eyes and dashed forward with a quick, solid strike. Faster than she could react, he had already locked her forearm and her leg in place, sending a quick series of jabs, vertical punches, and palm thrusts. The counterattack sends Annie stumbling back with a fire behind her eyes, a determination to not make the same mistake twice. She goes in for a kick to which Drayce simply slaps down her leg, sending it towards his own shin to block the strike, leaving Annie to hiss silently. Even with the years of training she went through, it still stung a bit.

"What is it that motivates you?" His question catches her off guard as he sends a low blow towards her which she barely blocks.

"Why do you care?" she shoots back as she lands a jab.

"Your eyes. They tell a different story than what you let on. Perhaps a story of family? Of abandonment?" he asks, his strange gold eyes seemingly analyzing her. "You are different from the rest of them."

"Shut up," she hisses as the two struggle to lock each other. "My past is none of your business!"

The two spring apart from each other. "For one, you aren't bought by the propaganda." This statement truly makes Annie think.

"So what if I don't?" she asks in a deadpan tone.

"Then you wouldn't have joined the Warrior program willingly. Maybe for someone else's benefit?" he asked, closing the distance between them.

This boy. From all her years of staying away, he infers this just from one small exchange barely worthwhile? "Well I'm not a soldier either. I don't intend to be a pawn in the entire war, mindlessly following orders from someone else."

"But neither are you a warrior, who does it for the good of others. You're selfish," Drayce replies.

Annie, however, neither acknowledges nor denies the claim. Instead, she deflects the question right back to him. "Well neither are you as well. You don't seem to be doing things for the interest of Marley," she asserts, the thought of Reiner coming to mind. "What do you have to gain from this?"

"I could ask you the same question. I do not consider myself a soldier, nor a warrior. I put my own interests above all else. I refuse to let anyone control me. I decide my own fate," Drayce replies.

Admittedly, that was exactly what she felt as well. It was for herself, her own sorry ass, but something in his tone told her that his statement wasn't completely about himself either. It was almost impressive how he managed to derive all that information about her in such a short time. "You are more observant than others, I will give you that," she admits.

"Then what puzzles me most is why someone like you would strive to gain the power of the titan," Drayce asks, though his tone implied that it was demanding. His eyes were glinting with danger.

"You're insane," she finally decided. "Paradis is already on the losing side. They have two titans, Marley has seven. I have half the mind to expose you."

"On what charges?" he smirked as he finally sent Annie to the ground with a thud. "And even so, I know you wouldn't."

"You're an idealistic fool," she shoots back, getting back onto her feet.

He simply shrugs as he returns to his stance. "Maybe. I see myself more as a realist. I already know the circumstances, and know what will happen. I will inherit the Victory Titan."

The declaration almost makes Annie laugh in ridicule, that is until Drayce lunges at her with blinding speed. She barely has time to block the flurry of powerful and precise strikes that he is hammering her with. Despite her training, the assault takes her down in a matter of seconds. Not only were each of the strikes powerful enough to be haymakers, they seemed controlled which meant only one thing. "You were holding back," she growls.

"Needed to finish up," he shrugged as he sat down on the nearby bench

"Not going to offer the lady a hand?" she asked innocently but his response surprised her.

"You're stronger than you let on. I'm not going to disrespect that." She raised an eyebrow.

"Good sparring partners are hard to come by," she says simply.

He simply sighs, a small smile appearing on his face. "Agreed."

(Line Break)

With the more physical part of the day done, it was time for a much needed lunch break among the trainees. The canteen was filled with trainees, all of them talking about the ups and downs of their first day of training.

"Advanced combat, we're taking the corner in the back. Wash your hands and go grab chow," Landon orders.

The mass of trainees rush to the sinks to clean their hands and grab their food. Not one to like large groups of people, Annie quickly cleans her hands, grabs a tray of food, and sits down at the table in the far corner. She picks up her spoon and pokes at the beef stew. Well, at least she _thinks_ it's beef stew but with the way they cook the meals, it could be anything. Sighing, she pushes the bowl away and instead starts on the bread. It was bland and dry, so dry that it actually made her cough.

"Hey Annie!"

The girl barely acknowledges the boy that sits across from her at the table even though she's known him for five years. "Marcel."

"Aww come on! What's with the attitude?" he asked as he scooped up the stew. "How was your partner? My ass got stuck with Porco."

"Drayce Azumabito. He's a lot better than most people," she says nonchalantly as she begins to inspect her apple.

"Wow. I'm impressed," Marcel says. "I think that's the first time you complimented someone instead of insulting them."

"Oh yeah? What a surprise," she mutters.

The two raise their heads in time to see Drayce take a seat with them. "I don't think I have to explain why I chose to sit here."

"Totally. My name's Marcel. My brother, Porco, is one of the louder and more arrogant dickbags over there," Marcel introduces. "What's your name?"

"Drayce."

"Oh! So you're Annie's sparring partner huh? She complimented you and I think it's a first because she never says anything nice about anyone," said Marcel.

"Really? I'm surprised," Drayce replies politely.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out three little containers of butter and tosses them onto the table. Marcel and Annie immediately hide the spread out of view. "Are you mad?!" Annie hisses.

"What?" Drayce asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Us Trainees aren't supposed to get stuff like this! Where did you take it from?" Marcel asked urgently.

"Are we not? Landon just gave these to me," Drayce shrugged.

It was Marcel and Annie's turn to be confused. "Who's Landon?"

"Oh. Right. That's Sergeant Price. He took me in and became my mentor when I was a lot younger," Drayce explained. "He's not like the rest of the drill sergeants. I mean, he'll yell at you if you really mess up but he usually only does it to keep up appearances."

"Wow. I guess knowing the Sergeant really does have its benefits," Marcel said, taking one of the butter packs for himself as does Annie.

The two open and spread the dairy product on their bread, drastically improving the taste. Seeing as Marcel had already emptied his bowl, Drayce pushes his own towards Marcel while Annie snatches his bread.

"Oi, leave him with some food," Marcel protests.

"No, it's fine. Not particularly hungry, not with how they make the stew," Drayce comments idly. "Hey Annie, who taught you how to fight?"

"My father."

Drayce nodded in acknowledgement. "Your style of fighting is actually a variant of what used to be known as Muay Thai. It mainly focuses on the use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins which earned it the nickname Art of Eight Limbs."

It was interesting to hear about the origins of her signature fighting style. She hadn't really thought about using her elbows or knees in fighting but she could see how it could be utilized based on her own skill set.

"What about yours? I've never seen anybody use it before. You were able to beat me without any effort at all," she asked.

"My type of fighting was known as Southern Dragon Style Kung Fu. Focuses on a solid defense as well as lock down techniques to restrict the opponent from retaliating. I modified it a bit to be able to dish out a few powerful moves of my own and to my own liking," Drayce explains with a hint of pride.

"I've never heard of it," Marcel said inquisitively.

"I don't expect you to have. The last practitioners of this style of martial arts died generations ago. Luckily I was able to get my hands on some manuscripts and study them," Drayce replied. "Better finish up lunch quickly. The hardest part of the day has yet to come."

"Which part?"

Standing up and grabbing his tray, he looked both of them in the eyes and in a dead serious tone says, "Class time lectures."

**A/N: So now you kind of have a taste for what's going on in Marley. From here, things are going to be taking a split path from the original story. I'm excited to share with you all with what I have in mind, and hope you guys are too! In case you're wondering, Drayce's form of martial arts does exist. I had to research that stuff before writing it. You're welcome for the fact check. Anyways, hopefully I won't drag out the wait time for the next chapter and hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**


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